Shy Shane slams into action

Punctuating his strong play with agressive dunks and eager defence, Edwards' sleepy expression belie the game changing role he's played in recent Snakes wins.

Having started the season slowly while recovering from a knee injury, the 201-centimetre forward has scored in double figures in his last eight games, proving a game breaker on several occasions.

Coach Aaron Fearne says the club's import simply needed time to settle into the team.

"He had a bit of time off when he got injured in Italy last year so he hasn't played a lot of basketball recently," he says.

"He needed to be a different guy for us. Someone who could put it on the floor, make plays off the bounce which he can do.

"He's long, he's athletic. Learning how to defend in this league is always difficult for a number of imports so it's taken him a bit of time to adjust to that."

At home against the Melbourne Tigers in late January, Edwards turned a fourth quarter tussle into a blow out in a matter of minutes.

Racking up 11 points, including three consecutive jams, the agile forward took the wind out of a late Tigers run and relegated former NBA point guard Johnny Flynn to a footnote on the way to a commanding 85-71 win.

"It felt good," Edwards says of the game. "I hadn't really had the chance at home to show people what I'm capable of doing but coming out in that game I felt really good about myself."

"I think about halfway through the season I got a good rhythm goin' and I feel pretty good."

The Taipans take on top of the table Perth Wildcats at the Cairns Convention Centre on Friday, March 1. Tip-off from 7:30 pm.